editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Former elementary and middle school teacher Claudio Sanchez is an Education Correspondent for NPR. He focuses on the "three p's" of education reform: politics, policy and pedagogy. Sanchez's reports air regularly on NPR's award-winning newsmagazines Morning Edition , All Things Considered , and Weekend Edition . Sanchez joined NPR in 1989, after serving for a year as executive producer for the El Paso, Texas, based Latin American News Service, a daily national radio news service covering Latin America and the U.S.- Mexico border. From 1984 to 1988, Sanchez was news and public affairs director at KXCR-FM in El Paso. During this time, he contributed reports and features to NPR's news programs. In 2008, Sanchez won First Prize in the Education Writers Association's National Awards for Education Reporting, for his series "The Student Loan Crisis." He was named as a Class of 2007 Fellow by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. In 1985, Sanchez received one ofNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Claudio SanchezTue, 10 Apr 2018 14:35:51 +0000Claudio Sanchezhttp://kasu.org
Claudio SanchezIn 1996, right after voters in California banned affirmative action in employment and college admissions, minority student enrollment at two and four-year institutions plummeted. What has happened since though, is pretty remarkable. Of the 2.8 million students attending college in California today, two out of three come from racially and ethnically diverse populations. The most eye-popping increase in enrollment has been among Latinos. They now make up 43 percent of all college students in California. Twenty-six percent are white, followed by Asian and Pacific Islanders at 16 percent and African Americans at 6 percent. Business, education and civil rights groups agree these numbers are encouraging and have far-reaching implications for California's workforce and economy. But there's a problem. Among faculty and people in leadership positions, women, Latinos, blacks and Asians are still poorly represented and now, a new study is sounding the alarm. It's titled, "Left Out: How ExclusionCalifornia's Higher Ed Diversity Problem http://kasu.org/post/californias-higher-ed-diversity-problem
100462 as http://kasu.orgTue, 10 Apr 2018 10:00:00 +0000California's Higher Ed Diversity Problem Claudio SanchezI never met Linda Brown in person. But like many Americans I knew her story. And her death on Sunday reminded me that, in 1996, my NPR colleague and producer Walter Ray Watson and I spent several days in Topeka, hoping to find another layer to Linda's story and her role in the Supreme Court's historic Brown v. Board of Education ruling. I've been reporting on school segregation — and desegregation — for years and Brown's passing reminded me of this visit to the place where, in a sense, this story began. I remember driving down the tree-lined streets of the racially mixed neighborhood where Linda lived with her family in the 1950s, a mostly blue-collar and middle-class neighborhood of office workers, merchants and lawyers. The Rev. Oliver Brown, his wife, Leola, and their children lived just a few blocks from Sumner Elementary School, the whites-only school that, back then, had barred African-American kids from enrolling. Sumner Elementary was housed in a beautiful building with whiteA Visit To Topeka: Reflecting On Linda Brown's Legacy http://kasu.org/post/visit-topeka-reflecting-linda-browns-legacy
100088 as http://kasu.orgFri, 30 Mar 2018 22:00:00 +0000A Visit To Topeka: Reflecting On Linda Brown's Legacy Claudio SanchezDemocrats got their shot at Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday, when she testified before a House committee about her department's proposed budget. The hearing followed widespread criticism of DeVos for lackluster performances on 60 Minutes and the Today show earlier this month. She remains one of the most unpopular members of President Trump's Cabinet and continues to anger Democrats over many issues. Republicans at the hearing, not surprisingly, were more supportive, praising DeVos for her efforts to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy, her support for charter schools and vouchers, and for her stance that states should decide whether teachers should carry guns. But from Democrats, there was criticism — and scorn. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., started off by taking aim at DeVos' proposed 5 percent cut in education spending for 2019. "You are turning your back on public schools," DeLauro said. "You admitted in your interview on 60 Minutes that you have yet to visit aDemocrats Grill DeVos On Guns, Schools And Moneyhttp://kasu.org/post/democrats-grill-devos-guns-schools-and-money
99644 as http://kasu.orgTue, 20 Mar 2018 21:48:00 +0000Democrats Grill DeVos On Guns, Schools And MoneyClaudio SanchezThe workforce is changing dramatically, and there's a widespread recognition that new skills — and new ways of teaching adults those skills — are needed and needed fast. In California, the state's 114 community colleges are facing the challenge of offering the credentials, classes and training that will help workers choose a career or adapt to a new one. The system right now can't serve all of these workers. But there's a new idea that could come to the rescue: Create a new, online community college for people in the workforce who've been shut out of higher education. It's the brainchild of Eloy Ortiz Oakley. He's a product of California's community college system — and now its chancellor. He says it's a system that urgently needs to rethink how it delivers the courses students need, when and where they need them. It's a fascinating idea, yet one that faces hurdles — not the least of which is the cost to get this new system up and running. Gov. Jerry Brown loves Oakley's idea and hasReinventing Community College To Reach Millions Of Workers — Onlinehttp://kasu.org/post/reinventing-community-college-reach-millions-workers-online
99142 as http://kasu.orgFri, 09 Mar 2018 11:00:00 +0000Reinventing Community College To Reach Millions Of Workers — OnlineClaudio SanchezI remember back during the 1997-98 school year when we were all stunned by five school shootings within a period of eight months in places few Americans had heard of: Pearl, Miss., West Paducah, Ky., Jonesboro, Ark., Edinboro, Penn., and Springfield, Ore. Then there was Columbine the following year, April 20, 1999, at a high school in Littleton, Colo. It became a pivotal event that started a national debate about school security, police tactics in response to a shooting and the shooters themselves — their psychological state, their upbringing, their families and of course, their access to guns. There was even talk about creating a government agency that would deal with school shootings the same way FEMA responds to natural disasters. After Columbine, President Bill Clinton convened a "youth violence summit" and commissioned a study by the surgeon general to look at the role of pop culture, violent video games and what the administration called " the roots of youthful angst andWhat Decades Of Covering School Shootings Has Taught Mehttp://kasu.org/post/what-decades-covering-school-shootings-has-taught-me
98532 as http://kasu.orgThu, 22 Feb 2018 13:15:00 +0000What Decades Of Covering School Shootings Has Taught MeClaudio SanchezMark Seidenberg is not the first researcher to reach the stunning conclusion that only a third of the nation's schoolchildren read at grade level. The reasons are numerous, but one that Seidenberg cites over and over again is this: The way kids are taught to read in school is disconnected from the latest research, namely how language and speech actually develop in a child's brain. Seidenberg is a cognitive scientist and professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In his latest book, Language at the Speed of Sight, he points out that the "science of reading" can be a difficult concept for educators to grasp. He says it requires some basic understanding of brain research and the "mechanics" of reading, or what is often referred to as phonics. I talked with Seidenberg about what it will take to improve reading instruction. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity. So how do you explain this to teachers? Success in reading depends on linking print to speech. There's aThe Gap Between The Science On Kids And Reading, And How It Is Taughthttp://kasu.org/post/gap-between-science-kids-and-reading-and-how-it-taught
98058 as http://kasu.orgMon, 12 Feb 2018 11:01:00 +0000The Gap Between The Science On Kids And Reading, And How It Is TaughtClaudio SanchezOf the 690 , 000 undocumented immigrants now facing an uncertain future as Congress and President Trump wrangle over the DACA program are about 8,800 school teachers. The real possibility that they'll be deported if the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program is allowed to expire has put enormous stress on them. Maria Rocha, a teacher in San Antonio, Texas, says it's gut wrenching, but she's trying not to show it in front of her third-graders. Rocha has been teaching at KIPP Esperanza Dual-Language Academy for three years. It's even harder, she says, because some of her students are also at risk of being deported. "It's a very touchy subject with 8-9 year olds," says Rocha. "But they're aware of this because they have family members who are undocumented themselves, so their families talk about it." Rocha says a first-grade teacher and colleague at the school self-deported late last year after her DACA permit expired. Everybody at the school took it really hard, says Rocha, butNearly 9,000 DACA Teachers Face An Uncertain Futurehttp://kasu.org/post/nearly-9000-daca-teachers-face-uncertain-future
97495 as http://kasu.orgMon, 29 Jan 2018 18:28:00 +0000Nearly 9,000 DACA Teachers Face An Uncertain FutureClaudio SanchezOn the NPR Ed Team, I am what you might call the grizzled veteran. I've seen education trends come and go and come again. And go again. You get the idea. In years past, around December, my teammates would often pause by my desk and ask: "What do you think we'll be covering next year?" I've always found this a fun thought exercise, and, at some point, my editor suggested I jot down my answers and share them beyond our cubicles. And so, here are a few predictions for 2018. A quick reminder, though: I don't have a real crystal ball or a time machine. Just gut instinct, which occasionally fails me. 1. DACA will end Since 2012, the federal policy known as DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — has protected roughly 800,000 undocumented immigrants from deportation. Under DACA, immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children are able to stay, work and get an education. A few months ago, the Trump administration announced it was ending the Obama-era program but left open theFrom DACA To DeVos: Education Predictions For 2018http://kasu.org/post/daca-devos-education-predictions-2018
96408 as http://kasu.orgTue, 02 Jan 2018 11:00:00 +0000From DACA To DeVos: Education Predictions For 2018Claudio SanchezIn 2001, not long after Oklahoma had adopted one of the nation's first universal pre-K programs, researchers from Georgetown University began tracking kids who came out of the program in Tulsa, documenting their academic progress over time. In a new report published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management today, researchers were able to show that Tulsa's pre-K program has significant, positive effects on students' outcomes and well-being through middle school. The program, which serves seven out of 10 4-year-olds in Tulsa, has attracted lots of national attention over the years because of the on-going debate over the benefits of preschool and whether those benefits are long-lasting. William Gormley, a professor of public policy at Georgetown and one of the lead researchers, says the Tulsa findings offer convincing and compelling evidence that they are. Here's our conversation, edited for length: Why is this study a big deal? Because it's the first long-term study of aDoes Preschool Pay Off? Tulsa Says Yeshttp://kasu.org/post/does-preschool-pay-tulsa-says-yes
95695 as http://kasu.orgTue, 12 Dec 2017 05:00:00 +0000Does Preschool Pay Off? Tulsa Says YesClaudio SanchezIn 1965, Congress took a major step in addressing the plight of schoolchildren growing up in some of the nation's most impoverished communities: It passed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. At the time, it was considered an important victory in the "war on poverty." For the children of migrant farmworkers, however, the law has fallen short. Their quality of life and their education have not improved that much, according to the Interstate Migrant Education Council. These kids still drop out at high rates and graduate from high school at low rates — researchers even have a term for it: "mobility-induced educational discontinuity." For the past 45 years Ann Kendrick, a Catholic nun, has worked with these students — children of migrant workers — in Apopka, Fla., just northwest of Orlando. There, off a long stretch of highway, Kendrick runs the Hope Community Center. She's blunt when she describes the problems these families face: "The path of migrant workers is paved with poverty,This Nun Has Been Fighting For Migrant Kids For 45 Yearshttp://kasu.org/post/nun-has-been-fighting-migrant-kids-45-years
95223 as http://kasu.orgThu, 30 Nov 2017 16:38:00 +0000This Nun Has Been Fighting For Migrant Kids For 45 YearsClaudio SanchezIt's 5:30 a.m. and dark in the fifth-floor hotel room, just a few minutes' drive from the Orlando airport. There are still 20 minutes before the entire family needs to be downstairs to enjoy the free breakfast in the hotel lobby, then they'll be driving the 15 minutes north to school — first period starts at the "very early" time of 7:20. This has been the daily routine for nearly two months since Yerianne Roldán, 17, and her sister Darianne, 16, arrived in Orlando from western Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. They're staying in this hotel room with their mom, Yesenia González, and their stepdad, Eliud Peña. Their hotel room is bright and clean — and pretty standard, albeit for the food stashed under the bedside table, and the piles of suitcases and random belongings stacked in the corner. "This is a new experience and if you don't have experiences you don't have a life," Peña says. He brought the family to Orlando because he has family in the area. "It's a story for'A New Reality': Students And Teachers From Puerto Rico Start Over In Floridahttp://kasu.org/post/new-reality-students-and-teachers-puerto-rico-start-over-florida
94444 as http://kasu.orgThu, 09 Nov 2017 10:00:00 +0000'A New Reality': Students And Teachers From Puerto Rico Start Over In FloridaClaudio SanchezCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit DAVID GREENE, HOST: And now a story about starting over in a new place. There are a lot of new students and teachers in Orlando's public schools this year. That is because after Hurricane Maria, many Puerto Ricans came to that city, which is home to a third of Florida's Puerto Rican population. NPR's Claudio Sanchez visited some teachers who are settling into new roles in Orlando and finding that it's not so easy. CLAUDIO SANCHEZ, BYLINE: Nearly 2,000 new students have enrolled in schools here, and they need teachers. So the Orlando Public Schools have hired classroom teachers and paraprofessionals as well as bus drivers from Puerto Rico. But because so much of the island is still in the dark, recent arrivals still cannot retrieve copies of their teaching credentials, proof of employment or transcripts from where they earned their teaching degree. BARBARA JENKINS: That might mean they start out as a substitute teacher until we can find thoseInterviews At The Airport: Teachers From Puerto Rico Find New Schools In Orlandohttp://kasu.org/post/interviews-airport-teachers-puerto-rico-find-new-schools-orlando
94441 as http://kasu.orgWed, 08 Nov 2017 22:03:00 +0000Interviews At The Airport: Teachers From Puerto Rico Find New Schools In OrlandoClaudio SanchezSuzanne Bouffard's new book, The Most Important Year, may be just what parents of preschoolers have been waiting for: a guide to what a quality pre-K program should look like. Bouffard spent a lot of time in classrooms watching teachers do some really good things and some not-so-good things. What are some of the things you learned? Successful pre-K [programs] teach children to learn to be learners, how to be curious about how things work and find answers to problems. You want to have hands-on experiences and opportunities for children to learn about things that apply to their lives. Good teachers always engage children in rich conversations and ask them open-ended questions, what they think and what they want to know. Another really important piece of a good program is that it focuses on things like self-control and behavior in the class, how to wait your turn, how to share, how to deal with frustration and how to solve conflicts. Those are skills kids are just beginning to develop atGetting The Most Out Of Pre-K, 'The Most Important' Year In Schoolhttp://kasu.org/post/getting-most-out-pre-k-most-important-year-school
92956 as http://kasu.orgMon, 02 Oct 2017 11:56:00 +0000Getting The Most Out Of Pre-K, 'The Most Important' Year In SchoolClaudio SanchezThis week, President Trump finally made good on his campaign promise to end DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. This 2012 administrative program implemented by President Obama, has allowed about 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children to remain in the country. They're known as "DREAMers," after a proposed law that never passed. At least a third of them are, or have been, enrolled in college. So when U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions officially announced the end of DACA at a news conference Tuesday, an avalanche of criticism from the higher education community began in news releases, in emails to reporters and on social media. From community colleges to some of the country's most selective institutions, higher ed leaders were defiant. "It's disappointing, and it's just wrong at many levels," says Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California system. Napolitano, former head of the Department of Homeland Security in the ObamaHere's What 2 Big College Systems Think Of The End Of DACAhttp://kasu.org/post/heres-what-2-big-college-systems-think-end-daca
92205 as http://kasu.orgSat, 09 Sep 2017 12:44:00 +0000Here's What 2 Big College Systems Think Of The End Of DACAClaudio SanchezErik Erazo says the end of the DACA program threatens all the things that the young people he works with have achieved. "You see in their eyes the fear, that's the heartbreaker," says Erazo, a high school counselor in Olathe, Kan. In recent months, Erazo says, he's had to be honest with students and their parents. He stopped encouraging them to apply for DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, because of the likelihood the Trump administration would revoke it. The program has allowed young immigrants who were brought here illegally as children to remain in the U.S. "I'm an educator, not an immigration lawyer," Erazo says. "But these are children who did not make the decision to enter the U.S. illegally. They broke no law and they've grown up as American as you and I." Erazo is one of thousands of educators around the country struggling with what happens next following the Trump administration's announcement this week that it is ending the DACA program.'You See In Their Eyes The Fear': DACA Students Face An Uncertain Futurehttp://kasu.org/post/you-see-their-eyes-fear-daca-students-face-uncertain-future
92078 as http://kasu.orgWed, 06 Sep 2017 10:18:00 +0000'You See In Their Eyes The Fear': DACA Students Face An Uncertain FutureClaudio SanchezMost teachers these days last no more than five to 10 years in the classroom, but Paul Miller taught math for nearly 80. At one point, he was considered the "oldest active accredited teacher" in the U.S. His career started in his hometown of Baltimore. It was 1934, the Dust Bowl was wreaking havoc in the Plains, Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down by police in Louisiana, and a thuggish politician named Adolf Hitler became president of Germany. Miller taught elementary school kids by day, college students at night and his mother on weekends. "I had to teach her how to write her name and the address of her house," he says. His parents, Jewish immigrants from Lithuania, had very little schooling. They had arrived in the U.S. long before the Nazis occupied their country in 1941. "My parents spoke Yiddish," says Miller. "They didn't know any English at all." Miller didn't know English very well himself when he started grammar school. But he went on to do well and enrolled in the only collegePaul Miller Loved Teaching Math So Much That He Did It For Nearly 80 Yearshttp://kasu.org/post/paul-miller-loved-teaching-math-so-much-he-did-it-nearly-80-years
91461 as http://kasu.orgSat, 19 Aug 2017 10:30:00 +0000Paul Miller Loved Teaching Math So Much That He Did It For Nearly 80 YearsClaudio SanchezDemonstrators came from across the country to gather at the White House in support of undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as toddlers and children. Five years ago today, President Obama signed an executive order protecting them from deportation. It's known as DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Now immigrant rights groups — and immigrants themselves — worry that opponents and President Trump's administration are quietly working to revoke protection for DACA participants — young people like Claudia Quiñonez from Bolivia: "I wouldn't be able to get a higher education, go to school, pay for my car. My whole life would end." And Fatima Romero, who was born in El Salvador, and was 13 years old when her parents entered the U.S. illegally: "I'm no less American than anyone who was born in this country. I've never committed a crime, I pay my taxes, we follow the law and all we want is to stay and contribute to the country that has given so much to us." Nearly 800Five Years In, What's Next For DACA?http://kasu.org/post/five-years-whats-next-daca
91311 as http://kasu.orgTue, 15 Aug 2017 20:57:00 +0000Five Years In, What's Next For DACA?Claudio SanchezIf you've ever driven south into Kansas on Interstate 35, past rolling prairies and wheat fields, eventually you'll run into the town of Emporia, population 25,000 and home to the National Teachers Hall of Fame. I took that drive recently, curious about what I would find but also wondering, why Emporia? "Why not Emporia?" asks Jennifer Baldwin, the administrative assistant of the National Teachers Hall of Fame . Baldwin, a native of Emporia, says that back in 1989 members of the local school board, chamber of commerce and Emporia State University got together and asked, "Why doesn't anybody honor the nation's best teachers?" They decided they would they would do it themselves, by launching a little program honoring the top five teachers who applied every year. To date, 130 have been inducted. Their names and faces are engraved on a series of pedestals in the middle of a room that once housed a TV studio on the Emporia State campus. The rest of the cavernous space holds classroom relicsThere's a National Teachers Hall of Fame? Who Knew?http://kasu.org/post/theres-national-teachers-hall-fame-who-knew
90909 as http://kasu.orgThu, 03 Aug 2017 10:00:00 +0000There's a National Teachers Hall of Fame? Who Knew?Claudio SanchezEmporia, Kansas is home to rolling prairies, wheat fields, and the world's biggest frisbee golf tournament. But the reason we went there: the National Teacher Hall of Fame, which gives the place it's most revered title, Teacher Town USA. In 1989 the members of the Emporia local school board and Emporia State University asked, 'Why doesn't anyone honor teachers?' To fill the void, they created the museum and hall of fame, where the top five teachers in the nation are honored every year. To be eligible, you must have taught for 20 years or more. To date, 130 teachers have been inducted. We sat down with this year's inductees to hear the trials, tribulations, and valuable lessons they learned in their years in the classroom. Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: If you drive south into Kansas on Interstate 35 past rolling prairies and wheat fields, eventually you'll run into the town of Emporia, population 25,000. It's home to the National Teachers Hall of Fame. NPR'sMeet The 5 New Inductees Of The National Teachers Hall Of Famehttp://kasu.org/post/meet-5-new-inductees-national-teachers-hall-fame
90528 as http://kasu.orgTue, 25 Jul 2017 13:00:00 +0000Meet The 5 New Inductees Of The National Teachers Hall Of FameClaudio SanchezThis week, the FIRST Global Challenge, a highly anticipated robotics competition for 15- to 18-year-olds from 157 countries, ended the way it began — with controversy. On Wednesday, members of the team from the violence-torn east African country of Burundi went missing. And well before the competition even began, the teams from Gambia and Afghanistan made headlines after the U.S. State Department denied the members visas. Eventually, they were allowed to compete. The drama marred an otherwise upbeat event focused on kids and robots. Every team arrived with a robot in tow, each built with the exact same components, but designed, engineered and programmed differently. The goal: to gobble up and sort blue and orange plastic balls representing clean water and contaminated water. For two days, teenagers — rich and poor, male and female — competed on a level playing field. But there were reminders that in some parts of the world, there is no such thing as a level playing field. And no teamWhat Really Happened At That Robotics Competition You've Heard So Much Abouthttp://kasu.org/post/what-really-happened-robotics-competition-youve-heard-so-much-about
90453 as http://kasu.orgSat, 22 Jul 2017 12:11:00 +0000What Really Happened At That Robotics Competition You've Heard So Much About